Shadowhawk Reviews @ImageComics Black Science #2

Here is today's Guest Review by Abhinav Jain from Shadowhawk's Shade, The Founding Fields, and Just Beyond Infinity, for Image Comics' Black Science #2. I have also added my rating after each review. If you have any questions about my rating or want to discuss anything just leave me a comment.

See the Review Rating Overview page for more information on how I rate each comic.

Black Science #2

Run-amok reality! Grant and his crew escape the madness of the lightning sea-swamp only to be flung into a futurepast trenchworld, where the Sons of the Wakan Tech-Tanka wage never-ending war on the savages of Europe! How did the Anarchist League of Scientists end up this deep in the onion? Who among them sabotaged the Pillar?

Preview

Run-amok reality!

Its not often that a new series begins with an excellent issue where both the writing and the art mesh together so seamlessly as they did last month in Rick Remender and Matteo Scalera’s Black Science #1. That issue was a straight-up pulp SF adventure with some really badass freaky aliens and a fantastic ticking-clock story. Scientist Grant McKay’s headlong flight through the jungles of this world was an engaging story that worked for me on all levels and Black Science #2 is an issue that I had really been looking forward to. Quite a turnaround from last year where after reading Remender’s Captain America #1 I couldn't really be bothered in any way to pick up Captain America #2.

As I said above, the first issue was all adventure with a hint of human drama. The second issue is heavy on the human drama as the story changes gears to give us the background on the characters and what brought them to that point when we first see Grant McKay. We don’t get to see the entire story, there isn't enough room in the issue for that anyway, but we do see strong foundations laid down for how the group behaves the way that it does. Especially Kadir, the financier of the entire Pillar project that was Grant’s life’s work.

Since this is a human drama story this time, there was a fair amount of characterisation for every member of Remender’s cast. Grant, Rebecca, Chandra, Kadir, Nate, they all get to shine throughout the issue, and that’s what I loved about this issue the most. Each flashback informs on who these characters are and what their motivations are. On top of that, the specific conflict that is being generated between the team members, especially as Kadir and Chandra start factioning the group, it makes for some really good reading. Remender pretty much excels at his characterization here.

Read the rest of Shadowhawk's review on Here

Images Unplugged Rating

Cover & Solicit - 4
Art, Colors & Inking - 4
Layout & Flow - 5
Story - 5
Verdict - 4.6 (9/10) - (Buy Black Science) SAVE 10%

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Shadowhawk is a blogger at http://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/, senior reviewer for The Founding Fields book blog, a contributor to the Just Beyond Infinity mixed-content blog and a comic book reviewer at Comic Vine. The use of these reviews has been authorized by the original author
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